Materials Engineering Perspective

Industrial Metallurgists, LLC advocates for a perspective that focuses on materials engineering concerns as they pertain to achieving overall product success.  This perspective is referred to here as the materials engineering perspective, and is based upon the following three considerations:

1. The performance, reliability, and cost of a product are strongly dependent on the properties of the materials that comprise the product.
2. Proper selection of the materials that make up a product is crucial in order to satisfy the desired performance, reliability, and cost requirements of the product.  
3. Control of the variation of the properties of the materials that make up a product is crucial for enabling the consistent performance, reliability, and cost of the product.

 
The first consideration is important because it brings the attention away from viewing any single component within a product solely in terms of its mechanical, electrical, optical, or chemical functionality.  Instead, seeing a component in terms of its materials moves the attention to the properties of the materials that are required to obtain the desired functionality.  It also brings attention to the actions that are required to obtain the required material properties.

The second consideration may seem obvious since most engineers recognize that specific materials have specific applications, and that the right materials must be selected for any given application.  However, proper selection of materials demands thorough and accurate knowledge of all of a product’s performance, reliability, and cost requirements.  Many design teams make the mistake of trying to select materials without knowing all of the selection criteria and/or based on inaccurate criteria.  Furthermore, there are selection criteria that are based on requirements in addition to performance, cost, and reliability.  For examples, industry standards, government regulations, intellectual property rights, and manufacturing constraints place requirements on a product’s design.

The third consideration about control of material properties is based on the fact that there are many sources of variation of the properties of the materials used in a product.  The sources of variation are related to the manufacturing processes used to manufacture a product and the materials used in the processes.  Controlling the variations requires an understanding of the relationship between manufacturing processes and the properties of the materials.  Excessive variations in the properties of materials result in products that cannot be easily manufactured and which do not have the desired performance and reliability.

Looking at a product from the materials engineering perspective can help design teams frame decisions and understand the information required to make better design, manufacturing, and assembly decisions.  An example of the materials engineering perspective can be provided through consideration of a pair of scissors.  From just a functional perspective, the scissors is a mechanical device capable of cutting paper.  From a materials engineering perspective the scissors is a set of materials with certain properties:

• Two pieces of corrosion resistant material hard enough to maintain a sharp edge, and ductile enough so as not to fracture when used to pry something open.
• Handles rigid enough to transfer a user’s force to the blades, but with enough strength and impact resistance so that they do not crack or break when the scissors are used or dropped.
• A pivot pin made of a hard, corrosion resistant material and with a surface smooth enough so that the blades pivot with little effort.

Furthermore, there are common requirements for all the materials.  Namely, that the materials enable the blades, handles and pivot pin to be easily manufactured and that the materials are of reasonable cost.  Recognition of these requirements and their importance helps engineering teams focus on the possible materials options that can be considered for use, and selecting the materials that optimize a product’s performance, reliability, and cost to produce.   

The materials engineering perspective also helps engineering teams focus on how to control the variation of the material properties to ensure that a product consistently satisfies the wants and needs of the customer.  This involves proper characterization of the materials to understand the effects of manufacturing process variations on the variations of the material properties, developing capable manufacturing processes, and selecting capable suppliers.

Now, imagine designing more complicated products that have performance and reliability requirements that are much more demanding than for a pair of scissors and which are exposed to much harsher environments.  For example a jet engine, a hip implant, or an automobile fuel level sensor.  What is the likelihood of the success of these products if the optimum materials are not selected and are not well controlled?

The materials engineering perspective may seem like a narrow niche to occupy.  However, there are many decisions that occur during product design, development, and manufacturing that have an impact on the materials that are selected for use in a product and how well the properties of the materials are controlled.  The chances of these decisions resulting in favorable outcomes improves when a materials engineering perspective is brought into the decision making process.

It is not our intention to diminish the role of other engineering perspectives or to imply that materials engineering alone can solve all the problems encountered during product development and manufacturing.  The materials
engineering perspective is just one perspective of many that is required for making good decisions that increase the likelihood of producing a successful product.